A lacklustre performance by West Australian public hospitals proves it is no time to be making cuts to the sector, according to the president of the Australian Medical Association's (AMA) state branch.

The report card said less than 80 per cent of emergency department visits were finished within four hours or less, short of the 90 per cent National Emergency Access Target set by state governments.

WA's public hospitals also failed to improve on elective surgery waiting times and targets.

AMA WA president Michael Gannon blamed the withdrawal of Commonwealth funding to the public hospital sector.

"The problems remain the same for every state," Dr Gannon said.

"The greatest concern for us in Western Australia is that at a time where our performance on elective surgery and emergency department waiting times could be a lot better, we have a Government that's proposing to cut staff from the South Metropolitan Health Service.

Enough time for excuses. Fiona Stanley has been open for a year now, it's time to move forward.

But Dr Gannon said the system was already struggling to cope with demand.

"We've seen a gradual slight reduction in private health insurance rates, we've got new epidemics of drug use, new epidemics of obesity and overweight which contribute to the strain on the system," he said.

"So as difficult as it is for state governments to find the funding, year-on-year the system becomes more expensive and more complex."

State must do more to secure funding: Gannon

Dr Gannon said the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospital would have contributed to the below-average figures, but said that was no excuse.

Government defends health budget

Both Mr McGowan and Dr Gannon said those cuts would only exacerbate problems in the public health system.

Health Minister Kim Hames is on leave but in a statement acting minister Albert Jacob said that under the Liberal-National Government, funding for public hospitals had increased each year.

He said the annual health budget was now $3.7 billion higher than in 2008.

"However, we must ensure health services are tailored so they are as efficient as they can be to cater for the needs of an expanding population," Mr Jacob said.

"In the past 12 months, Western Australia's health system has undergone significant reforms, including a complete overhaul of how health services are delivered in the south metropolitan region to make them more efficient and more relevant to patient needs.

"WA continues to perform favourably or outperform other states in key areas, and we can see that in the many reports produced by health organisations, including the AMA.

"For example, WA remains the best in Australia in the proportion of emergency department presentations with a 78.7 per cent length of stay of four hours or less compared with the national average of 73.2 per cent.

"For elective surgery wait times, WA is second best in the country with a wait time of 29 days compared to national average of 35 days."